Paul Pierce is the fifth most popular NBA Twitter user, in spite of the fact that a majority of his tweets are just retweets from his admirable "Truth on Health" initiative. Those retweets are nice and have a solid moral backbone to them, but are relatively colorless when quickly scrolling through your Twitter news feed in hope of finding something worthwhile.
They make up what seems to be most of his newsfeed, and unfortunately overshadows the unintentional brilliance of his actual, personal tweets. Pierce's tweets that he creates on his own narrow down to random statements, bizarre movie reviews, incoherent ramblings, and bombastic vows. He is the athlete Horse Ebooks. All of these things make Pierce a curiously compelling user to follow, once all the nonsense about "children being our future" is weeded out. Don't believe me? These are actual things Pierce has said to his 2 million+ followers.
Just went to see that movie Contraband Great movie 5stars
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) January 28, 2012
This is Paul's most recent tweet, in which he decrees a movie I assume was solely pitched on the premise of "Mark Wahlberg fighting" as perfect. Now, I haven't seen Contraband, but this tweet was given the trademark retweet-as-eye-roll by Twitter deity Joe Mande, so I can only assume that Contraband is not breaking new cinematic ground. Now maybe Paul enjoyed it as mindless entertainment, in which case would make this excusable. But it really, really doesn't seem like that, given Paul's prior history with movies (which you'll see shortly).
I'm close very very close very
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) December 30, 2011
This is from the beginning of the 2011-12 season when Paul was sidelined, and as you can tell, he is "very close". Very.
Is Tebow the Jordan of football wow
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) December 12, 2011
No, he's not.
Anybody seen immortals thinking about going to see it tonite
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) November 12, 2011
The fact that Paul non-ironically wanted to see Immortals makes me think his recommendation of Contraband is for real.
watch #Fred2 on nickelodeon By@BrianRobbinsTV
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) October 23, 2011
This is Fred. Paul wants you to watch him.
New Nik name for me this year "The BiG Three Four "
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) October 13, 2011
Hasn't caught on yet. YET.
i'm on @extratv tonight with my girl @mariamenounos - shout out forher new hosting gig with @MarioLopezExtra
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) September 13, 2011
Um, did I miss this? When did this happen, and does YouTube have it?
Please excuse Kelly Dwyer for writing that awful ball don't lie article on yahoo today he or she need better facts b4 putting story out
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) August 31, 2011
This comes from when Dwyer said Paul's asthma (which Paul later disputed having) had acted up while playing in an exhibition in China, and apparently this made him really upset. I'm not sure why.
Omg Whitey google him
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) June 26, 2011
Why does he want me to Google Whitey Ford?!?!?!
My boy @iambigbaby11 is hostin Liquid Sundays @FoxwoodsCT this Sunday. Check it out! Gonna be a hot party @ the MGM Grand pool w DJ & drinks
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) June 21, 2011
I wish I had a time machine to go to this.
Gotta love the Tyra banks show
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) April 1, 2011
No, I don't.
My boy Diddy & his super crew diddy dirty money r takin down @FoxwoodsCT on 4/20. Visit http://www.foxwoods.com/ for tix 2 the show
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) March 30, 2011
It excites me that Paul is friends with Diddy, and I'm not sure why.
Glad @Jeremih n @MintzPlasse cud make it
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) February 19, 2011
The singer of "Birthday Sex" and one of the star role-players of Superbad were apparently key guests at one of Paul's charity events for children.
Just the guys, basketball, pizza and @Tabasco! That's right Tabasco on the pizza...try it now thank me later! RT if you've tried it! #ad
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) February 5, 2011
RT! RT! RT! RT!
Where's the cotton candy at
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) December 23, 2010
Paul was in Disney World when he tweeted this. He wasn't in the middle of a game.
i didnt know tyronn lue could bowl like that
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) December 18, 2010
Tyronn Lue: Quietly the bowling savant of our times.
Potaydo , pataedo, patatoe ,pateydo , powtadoah ,patadoe or u can add an h ,patatoe and potato u people who no English need to learn ebonics
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) October 20, 2010
This comes from an earlier tweet where Paul misspelled "potato", and apparently is accusing those who called him out on it of being ignorant.
I got u
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) October 1, 2010
Thanks!
Maaan this young jeezy going hard rite now in the whip
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) March 31, 2009
Paul and I have a lot in common.
It's been a pleasure to bring my talents to south beach now on to Memphis
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) November 12, 2010
The greatest tweet of all-time.
Follow me on Twitter: @brendohare
1 recs | 24 comments
I am so glad that the only tweets I want to know about are from birds in my yard
and I can’t hear very well anymore so those tweets are becoming less and less.
Master Po - January 30, 2012
Meh. Gotta agree with Po.
Tried to read this. Got halfway. Got bored.
Sorry, Brendan – I usually like your articles. This one just kinda didn’t grab me.
I guess I’m just an old fart who just isn’t into the Twitterverse.
mmmmm - January 30, 2012
Haha, it's okay.
No offense taken.
Brendan O'Hare - January 30, 2012
i still think
tony allen had the best tweet of all time — http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/tony-allen-suffers-a-fender-bender-from-an-old-lady-tweets-it-all?urn=nba,wp3696
JunkyardDawg - January 30, 2012
That was pretty funny.
Berkcelt - January 30, 2012
I’ve always loved PP, but these tweets make me like him just a little less. He comes across pretty ignorant. I don’t see how knowing how to spell potato has anything to do with ebonics. Most people with 3 years of college know how to spell potato correctly … and use punctuation.
Cousin It - January 30, 2012
That's why they call it basketball IQ.
Athletes are athletes.
clover - January 30, 2012
Lame cop out.
If PP, or any human being, wants people to take him seriously, he should make an effort to write above a first-grade level.
Also, I’m not sure what “athletes are athletes” is supposed to mean: Does it mean athletes are stupid off the court or field? Because if that’s what you mean, there are plenty of examples to prove you wrong.
Cousin It - January 30, 2012
twitterfication of the language
I don’t think the problem is at all exclusive to athletes and definitely not just Pierce.
mmmmm - January 30, 2012 via iPhone app
I mean that athletes are elevated among us and gain many Twitter followers because of their athletic prowess--
—not because of their intellectual contributions to culture.
There are some very bright athletes just as there are some very bright humans. But there’s a reason Joe Average doesn’t have 2 million Twitter followers. Neither Joe Average nor Joe Athlete tends to have that much exceptional to say.
clover - January 30, 2012
Good point.
I guess the difference is that too many athletes and celebs THINK what they are saying is important … and still don’t make any effort to communicate it effectively.
Cousin It - January 30, 2012
Twitter is Casual
It’s like quick text messages for those of you not familiar with it.
Why do you think the site is named “twitter”? Are you expecting tweets in iambic pentameter? There are other sites for that.
p-peazy - January 30, 2012
Even a "quick text message" should be coherent.
The sentence I just wrote is less than 1/3 of the characters allowed for tweets. Point made.
Cousin It - January 30, 2012
Oh,
so you have more twitter followers than Paul Pierce? Do you know how your average twitter follower evaluates tweeters and the thought process behind whom to follow?
Or are you just bragging that your written communication skills are better than Paul’s?
Either way, you must be very proud.
KGHurtYourFeelings - January 31, 2012
Yes, I am.
Cousin It - February 1, 2012
I'm sorry but i dont unserstand the point of this article
Twitter is used predominantly to update on the most random of things. Why should Paul Pierce be held to a higher standard? So many of the tweets posted above are irrelevant to anything. Just his random thoughts. So he posted about a nickelodeon show? Big deal. He has a young daughter. Clearly he didn’t intend for adult men to watch. So you have different tastes in movies? Big deal. I found nothing peculiar about any of his tweets. Now Tony Allen, his tweets are hilarious. Your comments on Pierce’s tweets just seem to be grabbing at something that is not there.
And for those complaining about his grammar and ability to write, that is just sad. There is no need. I’m sick of the online grammar police. It reflects poorly on yourself to be bothered so much by it. Yes, I notice it but understand the medium. I’m sure if this were an editorial or something similar there would be a much greater emphasis placed on grammar. The tweets that brought down regimes in the middle east were not spell checked but were highly effective. Get of your high horse people.
PierceMVP08 - January 30, 2012 via mobile
Agreed
I believe Pierce also has (or had) a blog on Boston.com. The writing, grammar, and content on the blog is completely different from his Twitter, most likely because Boston.com is not the same thing as Twitter.
Mike - January 30, 2012
oh my god
“i got you”
avery bradley’s twitter is better though, and he posts cute pictures of his dog
YeahTommyB4ZGermansGetThere - January 30, 2012
Contraband
was an awesome movie. Definitely deserves 5 stars
Hamoozeh - January 30, 2012 via mobile
Maria Menounos
I caught that bit with PP and Maria on Extra, and only less than a minute aired, during the closing credits of the show. They had a shootout at The Grove in L.A, and Maria was wearing her blingy PP jersey. I might be able to put it up on YouTube, but it might take a while.
Vic_ - January 30, 2012
Why no mention of the pics he's tweeted?
Halloween at Ray Allen’s and Disney World with his daughter. Those rare times when he posts pics are the best.
Vic_ - January 30, 2012
haha...
I’m getting a kick out of the negative responses, Brenden.
I’m deemed ‘old’ by internet standards, too. I have vague memories of the very last of the dinosaurs, actually. But I thought this was a nice change of direction for an article. It is just as boring reading…
“Z player is still injured and won’t be playing tonight.” (Duh!)
I have adopted to twitter somewhat, but only in its most basic ways. Don’t have the time nor inclination to ‘meander around’ much. But when I have, I’ve been entertained or learned about something new from time to time.
Along the same lines, Facebook is generally a waste of time and a mystery to me, for the most part. I can’t see its value. But I know I’m in the minority there again. Everybody that I want to know what I am doing – already do. Anyway….
I read the complete ‘26 top followed athletes’ with some curiosity, and find PP being in the top 25…I guess…interesting… but perplexing. Maybe I should read more of his tweets (meh). Soccer dudes rule, eh?
Anyway, it is a tool for stars and public figures to connect more directly with followers, who I’ll assume to be fans, for the most part. It lets them not have to go through conventional media outlets. Maybe that’s good because much of it is not news worthy in the conventional sense.
I know one thing…it has power in revealing news fast. The death of Osama Bin Laden was tweeted before it was publicly announced by anyone.
I won’t go into its place as an instrument in the world’s protests, revolutions and attempts at such. But astonishingly, (as PierceMVP08 mentioned) was quite valuable there.
When it first came out, all I thought it was….was a short public e-mail of sorts.
Anyhoo….let me go read People magazine now or watch TMZ. (just kidding folks, just kidding.
Tom Halzack - January 30, 2012
oh yeah....
in keeping with the topic, for more zany hilarity – My twitter account is @TomHalzack
(oh the shameless self promotion)
The next 10,000 followers (I have an astounding and gullible 122 now) get free donuts of their choice at Dunkin Donuts. Just tell them I said it’s okay.
Tom Halzack - January 30, 2012
Love the guy
But he just got un-followed for now. Maybe that will motivate him to turn this team around.
chicagomaroon - January 30, 2012
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